Traffic button



Jan. I 15, 1929.

1,698,957 R. D. MCCREA TRAFFIC BUTTON Filed July 15, 1926 IN VEII T01? E0601 0. Ma (red ITTO/INEYS Patented Jan. 15, 1929.

UNITED STATES ROBIN D. MCCRE A, 01 SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

TRAFFIC BUTTON.

Application filed. July 15,

My invention relates to markers or buttons particularly adapted to be secured to the pavement at the intersection of two streets to mark the center of the intersection.

An object of my invention is to provide a traflic button which will serve as an easily visible marker for the center of a street intersection.

Another object of my invention 1s to provide a trafiic button equipped with means for indicating to the driver of a vehicle approaching the intersection on one of the streetsof the approach of a vehicle traveling on the 1ntersecting street.

Another object of my invention 1s to pro vide a trafiic button which is of substantial construction and will not be injured by the passage of heavy vehicles thereover An additional object of my invention is to provide a trafiic button positioned in an ntersection and equipped with r flectors which are disposed at such an angl that the hght rays from the headlights of approaching vehicles are reflected into the intersectlng street and are directed upwardly to be readily seen by the driver of a'vehicle approaching the intersection.

The invention possesses other advantageous features, some of which with the forego ng will be set forth at length in the following description where I shall outline in full that form of my invention which I have selected for illustration in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the present specification. In said drawings I have shown one form of improved trafiic button embodying my invention, but it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to such form, since the invention, as set forth in the claim, may be embodied in a plurality of forms.

In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is, in the left half, a plan view of the tra-iiic button of my invention and. in the right half, is a sectional view of the traffic button, the plane of section being immediately below the cap.

Fig. 2 is a plan of a street intersectlon sh0wing the traffic button as it is installed.

Fig. 3 is a view showing the trafiic button in elevation, a portion of the pavement to which the button is attached being shown in cross section.

The trafiic button of my invention is adaptable to various types of intersection and may be modified in accordance with the particular conditions occurring at the different points of 1926. Serial No. 122,529.

installation. The device is usually installed at the center of the intersection of streets extending at right angles to each other and the embodiment shown in the drawings is constructed with such an installation in view. The trafiic button comprises a body 11 which is made of any suitable material and is prefer,- ably of cast iron. The body includes a base 12 of disc shape which is countersunk at a number of points adjacent the periphery thereof to receive nuts 13 which engage the threaded ends of anchor bolts 14 embedded in the concrete portion 16 of the pavement. The thickness of the base 12 is preferably about equal to the thickness of the asphaltic covering 17 which usually is placed above the concrete 16.

Four side walls 18 are preferably cast integrally with the base 12 and are inclined thereto so that they form a truncated pyramid.- Supporting walls 19 extend across the interior of the square enclosure formed by the side walls 18 and act as braces for the entire body. One of the chief functions of the traffic button, aside from marking the center of the intersection, is to provide means for indicating visually to the driver of a vehicle the approach of a vehicle from an intersecting street. The means included in the present invention are suitably positioned reflectors.

Each of the side walls 18 is suitably designed to receive a recessed reflector 21, which may be of any preferred kind. In the present instance, the reflectors 21 are composed of suitably silvered glass sheets usually having a pebbled or rough surface. The reflectors 21 are set into rabbeted edges of the recesses in the sidewalls 18 and are retained in place by a sealing compound 22 such as putty, or a mixture of glycerine and litharge. The reflectors 21 may be flat plates or they may have either concave or convex spherical curvature. In the latter event, they are so disposed in the inclined side walls 18 that their mean planes are parallel with the planes of the respective side walls 18 which themselves are inclined approximately 5 to the vertical.

In order to protect the reflectors 21 from passin vehicles and partially to protect them from the elements, a cap 23 is provided. The cap is preferably formed integrally with the side walls 18 and supporting Walls 19 and overhangs the side walls 18 an appreciable extent. The cap is suitably rounded or domed so that Vehicle wheels passing over the trafiic button will not be subjected to an extraordinarily severe jolt.

As more clearly disclosed in Fig. 2 the traflicbutton is located in the center of an intersection with the reflectors 21 disposed at approximately 45, measured horizontally, to the center lines 24 of the intersecting streets and also at about the same angle to the direction of approaching vehicular traflic which is indicated in Fig. 2 by the arrows 26'.

With the trafiic button of my invention installed in a street intersection, light rays from the headlights of an approaching vehicle are reflected at right angles to the direction of travel of the vehicle and slightly upwardly into the intersecting street. Drivers of vehicles on the intersecting street are thereby warned of the presence of an approaching vehicle and can regulate their driving accordingly.

I cl aini:

A traflic button comprising an integral body having a plurality of sides forming the frustrum of a pyramid, an integral base projecting from said sides and apertured for the reception of fastening means, an integral cap projecting over the base of said pyramid, and a recessed reflector on each of said sides and extending across the greater part thereof.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

ROBIN D. MGCREA 

